Are you looking for a guide to bring the Domestic Church more alive in your home? Are you hoping to try out some new traditions that line up with the liturgical calendar in a beautiful way?
I have been thoroughly enjoying Kendra Tierney’s book The Catholic Compendium, Liturgical Living for Real Life.
The book breaks down the liturgical year, giving excellent explanations of why we have certain practices in our Catholic faith, how to bring them to life in our home, and some general “raising kids” tips and experiences that really help with tough conversations and questions our kids may have.
She has ideas for bringing the Church alive in your home include special meals, activities, decorations, art projects, and great stories.
She helps Advent and Christmas, Lent and Easter, and many other seasons become more tangible and brings a greater sense of awareness to what is happening during them.
I really appreciate how Kendra gave highlights at the beginning about some standard things we should adopt as a family, such as celebrating baptismal days and specific examples of how they do that in her family. But, I also was thankful for how she said she was offering a wide variety of ideas and saints and traditions, but that each family is very different and what may work for one family, will not for another and to not be overwhelmed by the number of ideas.
She suggested starting slow, adding one thing at a time, even one thing per year, to get the hang of it.
I was reminded of a talk given to me from one of the Nashville Domincans many years ago. The Sister gave a beautiful talk about the Domestic Church and she explained that bringing the faith into the home was not something that the children would “notice” but it is intended to be something that flows with the rest of life so well that it’s just “life,” not an extra add on or special effort.
Grace before meals, celebration of baptismal days, special feasts of the Church or saints should just be a normal part of the home. I have always worked hard on this pointer! And I think Kendra does an excellent job at sharing very doable, with very little prep needed, ideas to bring the Church to life in our homes!
